Letting Go of Certainty: Standing in the Dark at the Foot of the Cross

Bible Readings

Psalm 22 John 18:1–19:42

1. Introduction

Some days, words fail us. On Good Friday, this is especially true. It is not a day for explanations. You can only show up and be present, because the heart of this day is not answers, but presence. The questions don’t get easier today. If anything, they get louder. Some of you are here because you believe deeply. Some because you used to. Some because you didn’t know where else to go this week. All of that is welcome here. Take a moment. Whatever you walked in carrying today, name it quietly. Set it down here. We are not rushing to Sunday. Not today. Good Friday isn’t a puzzle to solve. It’s a place to stand. So we stand with the disciples who ran away, with the women who stayed, with the crowds who didn’t understand, and with the One who faced suffering with clear eyes and an unclouded heart. This is where the story meets us now.

2. Standing in the Darkness

Imagine yourself standing in the darkness at the foot of the cross. The sky has lost its light. The air feels cold. Your breath catches. Through your tears, you see the outline of the cross above you, a rough, splintered beam holding the suffering body of Jesus. You don’t know what to do or say. All you can do is stay. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, shapes begin to take form. You see Jesus’ arms stretched wide, pulled almost beyond what a person can bear. Above his head is a sign meant to mock, but pointing up as an arrow: King of the Jews. A crucified king. A kingdom shown through suffering. And under the grief, the shock, and the feeling that the world has broken, something else starts to stir. It’s weak but real, like the sound of a psalm, the one Jesus cried out just moments before: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me. In this cry from Psalm 22, Jesus not only expresses the depths of abandonment and suffering but also invokes a tradition of lament that ultimately points toward trust in God’s faithfulness. His use of the psalm connects personal anguish to communal hope, suggesting that, even in periods of profound desolation, there remains a strand of connection to divine presence and the possibility of redemption.

3. The Garden: A Messiah Who Steps Forward

The Passion story begins in a garden. Soldiers come with weapons, expecting a fight. But Jesus steps forward and says, I am the one you are looking for. He doesn’t hide. He doesn’t resist. He doesn’t hold on to safety. He faces danger with a calm that is beyond this world. This isn’t a weakness. It’s the strength of a Messiah who refuses to answer violence with violence. It doesn’t make sense by any logic the world would recognise. And yet.

4. Caiaphas and the Temptation of Explanation

Caiaphas shows the temptation to explain suffering away: “Better for one man to die for the people. “It’s the kind of reasoning that sounds reasonable until you’re the one being sacrificed.  Jesus will not be made a scapegoat. He gives his life, but not because others say he is expendable. He gives it freely, truthfully, and with love. Good Friday asks us to stop fixing things for a moment, encouraging us to be present with someone in their pain without resorting to explanations. This discipline of silent companionship is more challenging than it appears. Silence in the face of suffering can feel uncomfortable and even inadequate, causing a desire to fill the space with words or solutions. Yet, resisting that impulse foster deeper solidarity and honours the reality of another's pain, offering a form of support that explanations cannot provide.

5. Peter’s Denial: The Fear of Uncertainty

Peter, who just moments before drew a sword, now denies Jesus. He isn’t faithless—he’s afraid.  We know this feeling. The moment when faith costs something real, and we go quiet. But Good Friday calls us to stay, even when we don’t understand.

6. Jesus Before the High Priest: Truth Without Weapons

Jesus says, I have spoken openly to the world. Nothing hidden. Nothing whispered in secret. When he is struck, he doesn’t strike back. He simply asks for the truth: If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong.  Nonviolence here isn’t passive. It takes courage to stand in the truth without using the world’s weapons.

7. Pilate: Power That Cannot Grasp Mystery

Pilate asks, Are you a king? He isn’t looking for the truth. He’s weighing the risks. Jesus answers, My kingdom does not belong to this world. He isn’t separate from the world, but his mission is bigger than building an empire. Rome keeps power through fear. Jesus shows his power through love. Pilate shrugs, What is truth? For him, truth is whatever keeps Rome in control. For Jesus, truth is God’s life shown in love.

8. The Cross: Community Formed in Suffering

At the foot of the cross, Jesus speaks again: Here is your son… Here is your mother. In the middle of dying, he is still thinking about who will take care of her. That detail has never failed to strike me. The cross is where a new kind of family is formed—not defined by personal choice or biology, but by sharing in Christ’s suffering and love. Here, at the foot of the cross, we are gathered together: those next to us, the ones we barely know, those who may frustrate us, and those who remained when others left. Jesus calls us into a community grounded in mutual care, reconciliation, and the power of self-giving love.

9. Psalm 22: The Outstretched Arms

Psalm 22 goes deep into feelings of abandonment, pain, and loneliness. It speaks for those who stand in the dark with no answers. Many people still live there today. Jesus enters this place fully, without turning away. But as your eyes and your heart adjust, you start to see more than just suffering. Not instead of it or in spite of it, but growing out of it. The outstretched arms begin to speak. One arm reaches out as a sign of rescue, showing God will not abandon those who suffer. The other arm reaches out too, showing God’s kingdom stretches beyond Israel, beyond Rome, and beyond every border we make.  The cross points upward, reminding us that even in suffering, we can look to God. God does not stay distant from our pain, but receives it and transforms it, turning even the deepest suffering toward hope and praise. The last verses of Psalm 22 rise like a tender dawn. They don’t erase the darkness. They grow out of it. Rescue. Kingdom. Praise. All held together in the shape of the cross.

10. Application: God With Us in Everything

If there is one thing I keep coming back to, God is with us in everything. God doesn’t always answer with clear explanations. Sometimes, God simply answers with presence.  Jesus’ faith on the cross wasn’t fair-weather faith. It didn’t depend on good times. It didn’t fall apart when things got hard. It faced the worst rejection, violence, abandonment and still trusted. He knew what it felt like when heaven went quiet. When you pray, and nothing comes back. And still, at the end, he said, "It is finished. “Not 'I am finished,' but 'It is finished” the work given to him, the mission he was trusted with, the love he came to show. And then, with that same trust, he placed his spirit into the hands of the Father. That’s the faith this day asks of us. Not certainty. Not answers. Just the willingness to remain with the pain, trusting that presence—God’s and ours—can hold what we cannot yet understand. This week, intentionally set aside a few minutes each day for calm contemplation, not with the intention of resolving problems, but rather to practice honest self-examination. For example, you might sit in a quiet room without distractions, perhaps lighting a candle as a visual prompt of sacred space, and write in a journal about your current emotions or questions. Allow yourself to acknowledge and articulate your genuine feelings, trusting that God welcomes this genuineness. Through this deliberate practice, you may become more receptive to the sustaining presence that Good Friday promises, supporting resilience and spiritual growth even in instances of uncertainty. The good news of Good Friday is not answers but presence. God is here in the worst moments. Especially here.

Let us pray

Gracious Lord, while we stand at the foot of the cross, hold us in your quiet, firm presence. When we cannot understand, stay with us. When the way is dark, guide us. And let the light of your love lead us on. Amen.

Bibliography

Beetham, Christopher A., and Nancy L. Erickson, eds. The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2024.

Kim, Yung Suk. “Commentary on John 18:1–19:42.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary.

Morris, Bobby. “Commentary on Psalm 22.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary.

Methodist Church of Great Britain. Lent 2026 Worship Resource. Methodist Publishing, 2025.

Wright, Tom. Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B. London: SPCK, 2012.

The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).